Visitors to our fair state often never get beyond the idyll of Lobster, Lighthouses, Moose, Loons and Blueberries. A gorgeous coastline, crystal clear lakes, wondrous mountains, wild rivers, cathedral pines and hemlock all make for a pretty wonderful place.
However, a part of Maine few visitors ever get to witness is the one experienced by the average Mainer – high taxes, limited opportunities and few high paying manufacturing jobs. Only the most ardent free trader would say that NAFTA is good for Maine. Could H. Ross Perot have had it right after all?
Folks who choose to live here understand that there’s more to life than making a buck. It’s not always about the money. While folks “from away” buy up the beautiful lakefront property, many locals live in substandard housing down dusty dirt roads. Do Mainers resent “flatlanders” or folks ‘from away’? Maybe – sometimes – on occasion, but I seldom, if ever, see it. Pretty remarkable, I think.
Over the years, however, I have encountered poverty first hand. About 10 years ago while still in the corporate world, I visited Jacobsen, the turf equipment people in Racine, Wisconsin. The plant was in a run-down part of town. I stopped into a grocery for a cup of coffee and witnessed a down-on-his-luck guy buying a single cigarette for ten cents. The clerk behind the counter had an open pack of cigarettes and sold cigarettes to folks one at a time. The shopkeeper new what his customers could afford and made an effort to serve them.
I remembered that incident this past week. As Mr Lakefront, I have the pleasure of traveling to a lot of small towns all over Maine. Passing through Buckfield the other day, I stopped into the local grocery/convenience store. At that store in Buckfield one can buy a ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips and a 12 ounce can of soda all for $1.99. Now there’s a merchant who knows that even the less fortunate among us deserve an affordable lunch. I will always stop and buy something at that store.
On the other hand, one of my favorite convenience stores, a local store here in the Sebago Lake region, has changed hands recently, the new owners determining that city life and corporate jobs are no match for the simpler life in Maine.
I stopped in the store the other day and was greeted by bright lights and a renovated interior. The store was no longer dark inside. In fact it was as bright as any 7-11 you would find in a city. I checked the hot food container for the “to-die-for” chili dogs, but they were no where to be found. I did see a pizza, lazily turning in the hot food container. A bit dissapointed that I would not be enjoying two red dogs with chili, I ordered the next best thing – a slice of pizza.
The clerk said that will be $4.00 please. I said “WHAT???”. I may pay $4.00 for a gallon of gas, but I will never pay $4.00 for a slice of pizza! The clerk said to me, “You don’t understand sir, our slices are one quarter the size of the pizza.” I said, “You don’t understand. I don’t want a quarter of the pizza, I just want a slice.” I walked out empty handed.
I have a feeling that maybe one of the new owners has a degree in Marketing and believes that 1- people spend more money in bright places than in dark places (I’m not sure of that one) and 2- people will spend $4.00 on a slice of pizza, if you ask for it.
While most of the changes to this local convenience store are welcome and long overdue, I think the new owners need to visit the store in Buckfield and learn something they didn’t in Marketing 101. And that is, it’s not always about the money. Sometimes less is more. Especially here in Maine.